Smith.ai sells two things a trade shop might compare with Pickwick: people who answer your calls, and an AI receptionist that can hand a call to a person. Both are billed by the call, not the minute, which is the first thing to understand before comparing.
Smith.ai's receptionists: people, by the call
Its pricing page describes "professional call answering by real people", live around the clock, with no setup fee, month to month, 10% off for a 12-month term, and a 30-day money-back guarantee on the plan up to $1,000 (overage not refunded). Spanish is a dedicated line at $1.00 a call.
| Plan | A month | Calls included | Each call over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $300 | 30 | $11.50 |
| Basic | $810 | 90 | $10.50 |
| Pro | $2,100 | 300 | $8.50 |
Checked October 2026. Source: smith.ai/pricing/receptionists. Prices change; read the page before deciding.
Smith.ai's AI receptionist: also by the call
A free plan covers 25 calls a month, then $3.00 a call. Pro starts at $150 a month for 75 calls ($2.00 a call, extra calls $2.50); larger tiers lower the rate. Complex calls can be transferred to a live receptionist. It is month to month, with 30 days' notice to cancel.
Checked October 2026. Source: smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist. Prices change; read the page before deciding.
When Smith.ai is the better choice
- You want a person to answer. Smith.ai's human plans are that; Pickwick has no people on the line.
- You get a handful of calls a month. Smith.ai's free AI plan covers 25 calls; Pickwick has no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
- Your calls are long. A per-call price does not grow with the length of the call; a per-minute price does.
Where the two really differ
Per call against per minute. A wrong number costs a Smith.ai call; on Pickwick it costs the seconds it lasted. A twenty-minute call is one Smith.ai call and twenty Pickwick minutes. At 100 three-minute calls a month the published rates come to $212.50 on Smith.ai's AI Pro (75 calls plus 25 at $2.50) or $915 on its human Basic plan (90 plus 10 at $10.50), against $149 on Pickwick's smallest plan.
Checked October 2026. Source: smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist. Prices change; read the page before deciding.
What happens on a trade call. Pickwick pencils a job in and waits for the owner's yes by default, and a caller who names gas, carbon monoxide, smoke or sparking hears the same fixed 911 words every time. Whether Smith.ai does either is for its own pages and a test call to answer; ask it.
Pickwick, in short
Software that answers your line, says it is automated, reads back the number and address, sends a named hazard to 911 in fixed words, and pencils the job in for your yes. By the minute: $149 for 600 minutes, $349 for 1,000, Spanish included, 14 days free on your own number. The full plans are on pricing; a call, step by step, is on how it works.
Related: Ruby compared · What an answering service costs · AI receptionist or a live service.
Smith.ai is a trademark of its owner. Pickwick is not affiliated with it, and nothing on this page is a claim about the quality of its service.